


Aloha Danny

by indiepjones46



Series: First Time Fix-Its [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Anal Sex, Boys In Love, Claustrophobia, Episode Tag, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Kono is Danny's bestie, M/M, POV Danny "Danno" Williams, Slash, Slight Canon Divergence, season 3 episode 10 Field Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:35:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7968055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indiepjones46/pseuds/indiepjones46
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the weeks following the disastrous camping field trip with the Aloha Girls, Danny is still imagining the worst case scenarios where he doesn't get there in time to save Steve's life. Even Kono can't seem to get through to him. But when Steve comes over for dinner with Danny and Grace, the tent still sitting in Danny's living room becomes the catalyst for change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own the show or characters, just the made up plot
> 
> Beta: my bestie who shall remain nameless because the government doesn't need to know her business
> 
> Notes: This is yet another "fix-it" fic in relation to Season 3 Episode 10 where Danny and Steve go along for the Aloha Girls field trip and all hell breaks loose. Takes place approximately two weeks later. The slight canon divergence is in relation to Danny's claustrophobia which isn't really explored until season 4, but I'm hoping you forgive me the license in the name of the story. Hope you enjoy it!

Danny Williams sat at his desk at the Palace and stared off into space. For the past two weeks, every time he found a quiet moment alone, his brain held him hostage as it spun out every available worst outcome from that ordeal during Grace’s camping trip. It had been two weeks since the disastrous overnight trip with the Aloha Girls. Two weeks since he had been shot, his daughter’s life had been endangered, and he had almost lost Steve forever. Only a split second more, and that asshole would have killed his partner for not handing over the gems. All because Steve was protecting Lucy. Lucy was Grace’s friend and another member of the Aloha Girls, and she had been kidnapped along with Steve to ensure his cooperation. Of course, being the superman hero that he was, Steve had hidden Lucy and took off to draw fire away from her. He’d had no weapon of his own, other than his wits, and he had bravely and foolishly almost died to protect that girl.

See, his mind just couldn’t let it go. His brain wanted to stew and obsess over every little thing that could have gone wrong. What if he and the rest of the troop hadn’t been able to break out of that shed? What would have happened if Madeline hadn’t insisted on coming with him? Would he have made it in time? Would he still have been able to save Steve’s life if only one little detail had changed? It had been that close. Danny had only been a fraction of second faster than the man who had held a gun on Steve. If one thing had gone differently that night, Steve would have died. And maybe that little girl, too. And then Grace would have realized that her Danno was fallible in the worst way imaginable by losing her friend and her Uncle Steve because her Danno hadn’t been fast enough or good enough to save them. Then Danny would have died inside, because if Steve had died and Grace blamed him, what did he have to live for?

“Stop it, Danny,” a no-nonsense female voice ordered from his doorway. The detective snapped his gaze away from the wall to land on a tall, slender native woman with the most beautiful eyes Danny had ever seen. “You’re doing it again. I thought we talked about this.”

He sighed heavily and ran his hand over his hair. “Look, I know this, Kono. I am not an idiot. Do you think I enjoy this? Do you really think that I just love to spend my time imagining all the horrific ways that trip could have ended differently? I told you. I can’t make it stop,” he growled, banging his fist on his desk.

His coworker’s face softened as she uncrossed her ankles and stepped further into Danny’s office. “Look, things are slow right now, so why don’t we go have some lunch? I’ll buy. Take your mind off things for a while, yeah?”

Danny couldn’t help but calm under Kono’s influence. She was a good kid with a soft heart and mean left hook. Somehow, she had crept up on Danny’s heart, and now he thought of her as his kid sister. His very lethal, scary, Hawaiian sister. “You know what? That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” he admitted. Pushing back from his desk, he grabbed his badge, his wallet, and his gun, in that order. “Only, it’s like this. No offense to your feminist pride and all, but the day I let a woman pay for a meal is the day my mother would put a bullet in me. You’ve met her. She could do it.”

Kono laughed and rolled her eyes, and they strolled out of the building arm in arm. Danny opened the door of the Camaro and held it as she slid into the passenger side before strolling over to the driver side. It felt good to drive his own car for once, and he relished every minute of their drive to a local café off the tourist grid. In no time, they were seated at a secluded side table with their drinks while they waited on their order to be delivered. Danny had ordered the pork laulau, and his mouth was already watering in anticipation. If anyone had told him three years ago that he would move to Hawaii and eat pork steamed in taro leaves, he would have laughed while flipping them off. It was fucking delicious, though, and it beat any barbecue from back home hands down.

His taste in food wasn’t the only thing that had changed since moving to Hawaii, though. His whole attitude, perspective, ideas, and beliefs had changed, too. Now, when he talked about home, he was talking about Honolulu, and somewhere along the way, Jersey just became Jersey. He had a family here with Grace, Steve, Chin, and Kono. This was where his heart lived, so this had become home.

Kono took a long sip of her pineapple juice cocktail before saying, “You know you have to get it together, right? Danny, this isn’t healthy and it’s not doing you any good to dwell on what might have been. The only thing that matters is what is real. What is real is that you saved your partner’s life. Steve saved that little girl’s life, and everyone made it home.”

Danny nodded his head and rolled his hand to hurry her speech along. “I know this, Kono,” he reminded her through clenched teeth. “I’m making myself crazy, but I can’t seem to stop it. I just keep seeing Steve laying on his back in that creek while that asshole prepared to kill him. How many times am I going to be in this place? How many more times do I have to watch him almost die? Doesn’t he understand what that would do to me? What that would do to Grace?”

Kono reached across the table and captured Danny’s flailing hand in hers. Her exotic eyes were soft with compassion as she said, “Maybe he doesn’t know, Danny. Have you thought of that? Maybe you need to explain to him _exactly_ how you feel about him. Tell him how much Grace has come to rely on him and love him. You know how Steve can be. For someone so smart, he can be pretty obtuse at times.”

Danny snorted rudely. “That, my friend, is an understatement. You should have seen him with that group of girls. Here he is talking about boars and kill zones and flashing his knife while a dozen 10 year olds watched with wide eyes. He had no clue that his little lesson was inappropriate on so many levels, but the crazy thing is that they loved it. They loved _him_. Even crazier, I could tell he loved being there and working with those kids.”

Kono laughed lightly. “Well, to be fair, the boss is kind of a big kid himself. I’ve watched the change that has come over him in the last three years, Danny, and it is huge. He’s slowly but surely come out of his protective shell and allowed more people to get close. That’s because of you, Danny. You are the reason Steve has blossomed from the intense Navy SEAL into the caring and compassionate man he is now.”

Danny fought the flush of heat that spread up his neck courtesy of his Irish heritage. “Blossomed. That’s a good one,” he forced a laugh before shaking his head. “He’s definitely something else, that’s for sure.”

When Kono didn’t reply right away, Danny glanced up to meet her eyes. She had her sights set on him in that “sniper focus” way that let him know she was about to take aim. He quailed a little inside, because Kono never pulled her punches. “When are you going to tell him, Danny?”

Danny felt his stomach do a sickening backflip, but he decided to play stupid. “Tell him what, Kono? He already knows how I feel about him putting himself in constant danger and rushing headlong into a fight without backup. None of that is new information.”

Leaning across the table to pin him to the spot, she replied slowly, “You know that’s not what I mean. I want to know when you will tell him that you love him, that you want to screw his brains out, and that you want to have his little SEAL pups. That’s what I want to know, Danny.”

Danny hid his face in his hands and mumbled, “This is not happening right now. I will wake up from this nightmare and be in my own lovely home with the scent of coffee teasing my nose.”

“Think about how much better it would be if you woke up with Steve wrapped around you to comfort you from your nightmare,” she countered tartly. “Listen, Danny. I’m not blind, and neither is Chin. From the very beginning, there has been an explosive chemistry between you and Steve that anyone within a 20 foot radius could feel. The only ones who don’t seem to see it are the two of you.”

Danny finally braved a glance up and let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, would you look at that? Lunch has arrived! Guess we’ll be too busy eating to get much talking done,” he stated with false cheer. Anything to keep Kono from pursuing this line of questioning.

The young woman pursed her lips and cocked her eyebrow. He knew he wasn’t getting out of this conversation that easily, but he would take any reprieve he could get. She had alluded to this subject before, on many different occasions, but she had never been so blatant and confrontational about it until now. Just the thought of having to admit his feelings out loud made his stomach fold in on itself and the bite of laulau in his mouth turn to ash. If it had been anyone other than Kono sitting across from him, he would have waved his hands around while loudly disputing the facts before storming out of the restaurant. But this was Kono and he trusted her. He knew she would never betray his confidences, and in fact, he knew she was the only one he could even talk to about this.

When several minutes had passed in silence while they ate, Danny finally pushed his uneaten pork away and said, “Look, Kono. How I feel about my pig-headed partner is irrelevant. The fact is that he is my best friend, he is my work partner, and for all intents and purposes, he is my boss. For those three reasons alone, I can’t allow myself to feel any other way about him. You get what I’m saying here?”

Kono blithely popped another bite of her poi into her mouth and swallowed before answering, “Of course I get what you’re saying. You’re scared. You’re afraid of ruining everything by declaring your undying love for Steve. The thing is, Danny, you’re not hurting anyone but yourself by keeping it to yourself.” At Danny’s huff of disbelief, she continued, “Seriously. You are not the only one that feels this way. Steve is just as goofy and clueless as you are, and if you would just take the risk of saying something, I guarantee you will end up kicking yourself for waiting so long.”

“First of all, I am not scared,” he deflected quickly. “I have been inoculated against fear for the past three years thanks to that Neanderthal animal. Also, I have never said that I have ‘undying love’ for him. Those are your words.” When his coworker just rolled her eyes, he continued, “And C, there is no proof that Steve would return said feelings should I hypothetically ever admit to having them myself. In fact, it is more likely that Steve would rabbit off the island on the first deadly mission he could grab in order to avoid me.”

Kono made a rude noise. “Please, Danny. I see the proof of it every single day. Why do think I’ve started calling you ‘boss’ at work? It sure as shit isn’t because you have more pull than I do. I call Steve ‘boss’ because he actually is our boss. I call you ‘boss’ because you are the boss of Steve. Anytime he is in danger or hurt, who do we call about it? Not his sister and not Catherine, and definitely not the governor. We call you. We call you because we know that you will take care of him and make sure he is going to be okay. We call you because we know that’s what Steve wants us to do. You are the only one he trusts without reservation, the one he turns to for support, and the one he watches and touches way too often to be purely friendly. You get it now?”

Danny rubbed his face with exhaustion. He hadn’t been sleeping well since that day, and he knew his nerves were dangerously frayed. With a deep sigh, he said, “I just can’t do it, Kono. He means too much to me to risk it. He means too much to Grace for me take that kind chance. Things are fine the way they are, and I’ll get over this… _thing_ … with a little more time.”

Kono didn’t look like she bought his assertion, but Danny was intent on putting this conversation to bed. Pulling out his wallet, he paid for their lunch, left a hefty tip, and escorted his coworker back to the vehicle. As the Camaro purred to life, he turned to look at the lovely Hawaiian woman and said, “And did you really just say I wanted to have his ‘SEAL pups’? That is so wrong on so many levels that I don’t know where to even start.”

Her laughter pealed throughout the interior of the car as they sped down the road toward the Palace. “I was wondering if you were going to catch that.” She calmed marginally and added, “Whatever you decide to do or not do, Danny, I’m here for you. I may not keep my opinions to myself, but I will always have your back.”

Since they were idling at the stop light, Danny reached over to sling his arm around her graceful neck and pull her in for a sloppy kiss to the cheek. “You’re a good egg, Kono Kalakaua. I don’t care what Chin says about you.”

He laughed and then grunted when she socked him the stomach and the mood between them turned back into the light-hearted teasing that was so familiar to them. By the time they had returned to work, Danny felt marginally better about things. Just being able to talk to someone else about the feelings that roiled and bubbled inside him when it came to his partner had helped him feel a little calmer and back in control. He could do this. He could quit obsessing over that camping trip and move on. Nothing had to change.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, babe, it’s five o’clock and all is well,” Danny announced later that evening as he swaggered into Steve’s office. “It’s time for all good little ninjas to call it a day and go home.”

Steve leaned back in his chair and pulled his arms up to stretch. Danny couldn’t help but be riveted by the sight of his black tee shirt straining over the corded muscles of his partner’s chest as the man twisted and turned to loosen up after sitting in one place for too long. “God, it’s that late already?” Steve complained. “I still have a stack of expense reports to sort through. You go ahead, Danny. I’ll stay a little longer so I can put a dent in it.”

Danny scoffed, “The only thing that will have a dent in it is your unnaturally thick skull, my friend. It can wait until tomorrow. Tell you what, Grace is coming over tonight and I’m cooking. Come to the house and eat some food and relax. She’s already texted me three times to see if you would be there.”

Steve’s face broke out into a ridiculous grin that caused all kinds of mayhem to run loose in the area around Danny’s heart. He rubbed his chest unconsciously as Steve pushed away from his desk and unfolded his tall, lethal frame until he was standing. Grabbing his gun, his badge, and his wallet, in that order, Steve made his way over to Danny. “You’re not cooking eggs, are you? Just tell me now so I can save Grace from certain death.”

They fell into step naturally as they made their way down the hall. “Hardy har har, asshole. It was one time. When are you going to let that go? You know, you are welcome to go on home and eat your pineapple and macadamia nuts, or whatever. Grace and I, however, will be enjoying my mother’s lasagna recipe.”

As they approached the Camaro, Steve reached over to pluck the keys out of Danny’s waving hand and headed to the driver’s side. “I guess I’ll take my chances on the lasagna, then. Do we need to stop to pick her up on the way home?”

Danny felt a curl of warmth in his stomach at Steve’s casual reference to home. He didn’t even bitch about his partner once again commandeering his vehicle as he slid into the passenger seat. “Nah, Rachel is going to drop her off after her Aloha Girls meeting in about an hour. I tried to convince her to quit that dangerous club and take up ice hockey, but it was nothing doing.”

Steve peeled out into traffic headed toward Danny’s new place. “Seriously, Danny? The Aloha Girls are awesome. You should have seen Lucy in action. That girl is going to make a great field medic one of these days.”

Danny rolled his eyes with good humor. “You are an idiot, babe. If she’s lucky, Lucy will go on to live a very boring and fulfilling life after years of trauma therapy. No child should ever be put through what that little girl had to endure. In fact, I’m surprised that she’s still in the group and that her mother hasn’t plucked her up and packed her off to the mainland.”

Steve pulled into Danny’s driveway and turned off the engine. “Nah, she’s made of sterner stuff than that, Danno. Lucy is a fighter, and I guarantee you that she’ll be kicking ass and taking names by the time she’s 18.”

They continued to bicker back and forth for the next hour as they worked seamlessly together in the kitchen to prepare the lasagna. At one point, Danny even had to banish Steve to the living room when he wouldn’t quit sneaking different spices into the sauce and stealing bites of the mutz.

As Danny placed the finishing layer of cheese on the top and slid it in the oven, Steve called out, “You know, Danny, this place is looking really nice. Who’s your decorator? I want to call them about adding my own tent to my living room.”

Danny liberated two Longboards from the fridge and pried the caps off with an opener before strolling in to join his smartass friend. “For your information, Rachel is the one that picked most of this stuff out. It’s been surreal having her help me set up the place. She keeps showing up with another knick-knack or throw pillow or some other nonsense. It’s like she feels guilty about something, but hell if I know what about.” He handed Steve his beer and collapsed on the couch next to him. “The tent, now, that was my idea. I decided that this is the only kind of camping I’m willing to do anymore, so Grace and I spent a lovely weekend toasting marshmallows with a butane torch and telling scary stories. Mine involved a homicidal madman that jumped off roofs, swam with sharks, and dragged his frightened partner, the hero of the tale, through all manner of deadly situations.”

Steve didn’t laugh like he expected. Instead, he looked a little hurt. “You had Grace this past weekend and you didn’t bring her over to swim? Danny, we could have camped on the beach. I could have built a real fire and roasted hot dogs and made s’mores. This,” he paused to wave his hand at the tent, “Is just pathetic. And as for your little story, it sounds to me like the real hero of the tale is the guy who swam with sharks. Just saying.”

Before Danny could fire back a retort, the door opened up and his beautiful daughter walked in. Danny and Steve both stood to their feet to greet her, but Grace ran past Danny’s open arms to jump into his partner’s. “Uncle Steve! You came!”

Danny stood there with his arms empty, but somehow, his heart was still full. “What am I over here, huh? Chopped liver?”

Steve finally released Grace from his crushing embrace to allow her to give her father his own hug. “Danno, don’t be silly! I haven’t seen Uncle Steve in two weeks. I just saw you last weekend and talked on the phone to you yesterday.”

“Oh, well, excuse me, Princess Grace. It’s nice to know where I stand in your fickle affections,” Danny teased his daughter as he divested her of her patch-filled vest and backpack.

Steve and Grace immediately began an animated conversation about how her meeting had gone as Danny walked back into the kitchen to check on dinner. His ear perked up when he heard Grace say, “Here, Uncle Steve, I have some things for you.”

Danny popped his head back out of the kitchen door to take in the scene. Grace was perched next to his partner on the couch as she pulled a stack of papers out of her bag. Handing him the first one, she explained, “This one is from Alicia. That’s you there gutting a boar. Here’s one from Lola that shows you throwing a knife into a tree, and this one is from Riley. It just has hearts on it with your initials in the middle.” She paused to roll her eyes dramatically as Steve grinned from ear to ear. “The last one is from Lucy. I’m pretty sure you can tell what it is.”

His curiosity piqued, Danny made his way over to his partner to peer over his shoulder. The picture, drawn on pink construction paper, depicted a young girl with blonde braids and a tall, brown-haired man getting married. The rest of the paper was covered in hearts and Steve’s name. Danny couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the abashed look on his partner’s face. He stopped laughing abruptly when Grace retrieved a small slip of paper from her pocket and handed it over, as well. “And this was from Lucy’s mom,” she explained with another trademark eye roll.

This time it was Steve grinning as he proudly showed Danny the paper with Lucy’s mom’s name and phone number on it. Before Danny could knock his partner off his high horse, Grace continued, “Lucy keeps telling all of us that she’s going to grow up and marry Uncle Steve, but don’t worry, Danno. I set her straight on that.”

Confusion coloring his voice, Danny asked, “What do you mean, monkey?”

Grace looked at him like he was dense and said, “Well, duh! Uncle Steve can’t marry Lucy. She’s too young. Besides, he’s going to marry you, isn’t he?”

Steve choked halfway through his sip of beer and ended up spraying all three of them with the force of his coughing. Danny, however, couldn’t move. He was frozen like a deer in headlights as he tried and failed to see how Grace had come up with this idea. Grace, too distracted by pounding on Steve’s back to pay attention to her father, didn’t seem to notice that her Danno had turned into a human statue.

When Steve had regained control of himself, Danny finally unhinged his jaw enough to stammer, “I, uh, no. No, Grace, Uncle Steve is not going to marry me. Remember? We talked about this. Danno and Steve are work partners, monkey. That’s not the same thing as life partners.” He shot a panicked look at Steve for help, but the idiot was just grinning while clearly enjoying Danny’s discomfiture.

Grace, bless her sweet face, just looked confused. “But Danno! I saw you two. You were cuddling on the couch at Halloween and you hug each other _all the time_. That’s what Lola says her two dads do together. She also says they kiss, but I’ve never seen you and Uncle Steve do that yet. And I thought you loved each other. You said so the other day when-“

“Aaaaand, that’s the timer for the lasagna,” Danny interrupted her quickly before she could finish that sentence. He beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen and prayed that she wouldn’t continue the explanation by telling Uncle Steve what they had been discussing during their “camping trip” in the living room. The whispers and murmurs of their voices did not bode well him, but he steadfastly refused to leave the haven of the kitchen until he absolutely had to.


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner was a lively affair as Steve went out of his way to needle Danny at every turn. The schmuck seemed to get a kick out of dropping references to their impending nuptials, asking Grace if she would be his best man, and even going so far as to insist that he preferred chocolate for their wedding cake. Danny glowered and shot him dirty looks, but nothing seemed to dampen Steve’s fun. The final straw was when Steve had smacked Danny on his ass as he walked by on his way to the living room and said, “Dinner was great, honey. What’s for dessert?”

Danny seethed with impotent fury while pretending to be fine until he was able to get Grace tucked into bed for the night. As he kissed his daughter on her strawberry-scented locks, she whispered, “Don’t be mad at Uncle Steve, Danno. He’s just teasing you. Besides, I think he loves you, too.”

Danny had no reply for his little girl other than to repeat that he loved her and to have sweet dreams. Her words had the intended effect, though, because he found his unreasonable anger abating. Before heading back to the living room to confront his clueless friend, Danny hid in the bathroom to gather his wits. He splashed cold water on his face, checked his teeth for any stray bits of oregano, and ran the comb through his unruly blonde hair until he felt ready to face Steve once more. Taking a deep breath for courage, he sauntered back out to the living room where Steve was reclined on the sofa flipping through the channels on TV.

Steve’s face lit up with glee when he saw Danny’s approach. “So, about that dessert, Danny…” he trailed off with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Danny flipped him off and replied with exaggerated sweetness, “I got your dessert right here, asshole.”

Steve just raised an eyebrow and replied, “Touchy, touchy. What’s got you so grumpy, Danno?” He patted the cushion next to him on the couch and invited, “Come sit next to your fiancé and tell him all about it.”

Danny flopped on the small couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “I hate you so much right now. You do realize that you’re only reinforcing Grace’s misconception, don’t you? To top it off, all the Aloha Girls and probably Madeline think that we are dating now. You are not helping this situation one bit, I’m telling you.”

Steve threw his arm over the shorter man’s shoulders and pulled him in closer to his body, much like they had done while watching the movie at Steve’s house after Halloween. “Who cares what other people think, Danny? The only thing that matters is that we know the truth, right?”

Danny couldn’t stop himself from stiffening. Clearing his throat, he replied cautiously, “Yeah. The truth.” He couldn’t help but hear Kono scolding him in his head to tell Steve how he felt, yet his lips remained stubbornly silent.

They sat like that for at least a half an hour as Steve continued to flip through the channels until he settled on a WWII documentary on the History Channel. Steve seemed perfectly content to keep the shorter man pressed up against his side and pinned by his long, tattooed arm, and Danny was both miserable and ridiculously happy by the casual affection from his friend. Steve was absorbed in the program, but Danny couldn’t get into it. He was too busy convincing his erection to wilt while simultaneously resisting the urge to place his hand on Steve’s thigh.

By 10:30 pm, Danny’s nerves were shot. He had made multiple excuses to get up and move about the apartment such as checking on Grace (sound asleep every time), getting more beers, and even doing laundry. But no matter how many times he got up, Steve always patted the seat right next to him when he came back, so Danny felt obligated to submit to the continued torture of smelling Steve’s cologne, soaking up the heat of his body, and memorizing the feel of each muscle that bunched and released with every movement Steve made.

When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he stood abruptly and announced, “Well, look at the time. I guess you better head on home for the night.”

Steve turned the TV off and watched Danny intently until the detective was squirming and twitching. With a small half-smile, Steve reminded him, “We drove here together, Danny. Unless you’re willing to let me take the Camaro home for the night, I’m going to have to sleep here.”

Danny cursed as he scrambled to think of an alternative. He couldn’t let Steve take the car home for the night. He had to leave early in the morning to get Grace to school on time. Waking her up to run Steve home was out of the question, as well. With a heavy sigh, Danny reluctantly offered, “You can have the couch, I guess.”

Steve looked down at the small couch that only had two cushions on it and then looked back at Danny and shook his head. His eyes landed on something behind Danny and his face brightened. “Hey, what about the tent?”

Danny pivoted to consider the option. He and Grace had fit inside it comfortably enough, but she was a midget and Danny wasn’t much taller. His partner, on the other hand, was a giant. “I’m not sure you’ll fit, babe. I guess I can take the tent and you can have the bed,” he offered with a frown. His back gave a twinge of protest at the thought of sleeping on the floor again.

Steve, though, was already across the room and unzipping the flap to peer inside. “Danny, this is great! There’s pillows and sleeping bags still in here.” Steve sat on his bottom to peel off his boots and socks before he crawled inside to recline on the pile of blankets. “See? There’s plenty of room in here. Crawl in here, Danny. I bet we can both fit.”

Danny stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked up on the balls of his stocking feet to hide his nerves. “No, no, I will not be crawling in there with you, you big goof. I am going to sleep in my comfortable bed like an actual adult.” He shook his head in disbelief as Steve rolled around to divest himself of his wallet, his badge, and his gun, in that order, before shoving them in the far corner. “You know where the emergency toothbrushes are located, so help yourself. Good night, Steven.”

“Come on, Danny! It’s still early. Come talk to me for a minute. I want to ask you something,” Steve entreated from within the tent.

Danny threw his head back and groaned. Steve was determined to get under his skin tonight. Still, Danny took his own socks off and carefully picked his way inside the tent. Everywhere he tried to place his hand or his knee, Steve was there. After much cursing and threats to Steve’s welfare, Danny eventually was able to wedge himself into the tent until he was facing his unexpectedly somber partner.

“What’s with the face, babe?” Danny asked, his eyes searching for clues in Steve’s handsome visage.

Steve’s eyebrows were creased and he wouldn’t quite meet Danny’s gaze when he said, “Grace said you’ve been having nightmares. She said you woke her up this past weekend and you were tossing and turning and shouting my name before you bolted awake with a yell. What’s going on with you, Danny?”

Danny’s pulse began to race and he felt trapped. Why did the space seem so small suddenly? His eyes darted around the interior of the tent, but all he could see was Steve. “It’s nothing, babe. Just flashbacks from the camping trip is all. It’s not a big deal.” He could feel a bead of sweat rolling down forehead to drip on the pillow and fought hard to keep his breaths even and not to panic as the tent seemed to shrink around them.

“Don’t lie to me. What are you having nightmares about? We all made it out of there alright. Even your arm is mostly healed up now. Tell me,” Steve whispered, his hazel eyes going soft as moved even closer into Danny’s personal space.

He tried to back away, to create more room in the small tent, but Steve wrapped his big palm around Danny’s bicep to stay him. Danny tried to suck in enough air to speak, but it felt like his lungs were closing down on him. He could feel that nebulous panic taking hold of him and pressing down on him until he thought he would suffocate. “Steve…can’t breathe,” he panted as he began to thrash and fight his way toward the opening of the tent.

He could hear Steve’s harsh voice, but he couldn’t make out the words. He had to escape. He had to be free and breathe again, but his legs were tangled in blankets and his partner’s own outrageously long legs. Danny lashed out with his fist and connected with something solid before a heavy weight pinned him to the floor.

Panicked, breathy noises were escaping from his throat as his vision narrowed down to a tunnel until a soft, firm voice in his ear demanded, “Close your eyes, Danny. Do it! Just close your eyes, buddy. I got you.”

Danny forced his wildly rolling eyes to close and focused on the sound of Steve’s voice in his ear. The Commander continued, “That’s right. Take slow, deep breaths. Come on, Danny! Breathe with me. Deep breath in, hold it for two counts, and then slowly let it back out. Again. Good job, Danno. That’s it. Now, just relax. Everything is fine.”

Danny floated on the soothing, crooning words Steve repeated over and over in his ear until he felt his sanity return. He didn’t know how long he lay there with Steve’s big, hard body pressed into him from all sides, but eventually, his senses began to respond to his brain’s commands once more. The first thing he realized was that Steve was still whispering instructions in his ear interspersed with tender kisses along his jawline. The next thing he noticed was that his arms were locked around Steve’s back and he had a death grip on the man’s tee shirt and was pulling him in closer. The last thing he detected was that his dick was steadily growing between them and it wouldn’t be much longer before Steve couldn’t help but notice.

“Okay, Danny, you’re doing real good. I’m going to get you out of here, but you need to keep your eyes closed so you don’t panic again, yeah? Neither one of us needs more bruises. I’m going to let you go now, okay? Let go of my shirt, and I’ll back out of the tent first. Just keep your eyes closed and trust me to get you out of here, got it?” Steve commanded. He didn’t move until Danny nodded without speaking and forced his frozen fingers to let go of his shirt.

Good to his word, Steve began to back out of the tent, talking to Danny the entire time, letting him know what he was doing. Danny didn’t move, didn’t open his eyes, and kept his focus entirely on the sounds of Steve’s voice and movements. In no time at all, Danny heard the sound of ripping fabric before a cool hint of the air conditioning ghosted across his feverish skin. The cloth continued to tear until Steve’s voice was once again hovering close to his ear.

“Open your eyes now, Danny. Come on, buddy. Let’s get you to bed,” Steve ordered from above him.

Danny blinked rapidly until his vision cleared and he saw Steve’s big paw extended to help him up. With his adrenaline crashing came the shakes, but Steve’s grip was solid as he hauled Danny to his feet and into his arms for a quick, bruising hug. Danny’s breaths were still a little too fast, but Steve’s calm, steady litany continued as he guided the shorter man back to his bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

In the corner of his mind, Danny knew he would be mortified by his reaction tomorrow, but for now, he allowed his partner to treat him like a child by undressing him down to his boxers and guiding him into the bed. He felt a frisson of panic when Steve walked away, but before he could unman himself further and call out, he heard the sound of the door close and the lock snick into place. Even though it was dark in his room, he could follow Steve’s movements as he shed his own clothes before crawling into the bed beside him. They lay there in the quiet, face to face, and he could feel the weight of Steve’s unasked questions and the concern that rolled off of him in waves.

“Uh, I just wanted to say thanks for that back there. I didn’t mean to lose my shit like that. You’re a good friend, Steve,” Danny whispered into the darkness. “I don’t know how I lived this long without having you in my life, and I don’t know what would happen to me if you weren’t in it.”

Steve didn’t answer right away. Instead, his hand found its way to Danny’s neck and his thumb rasped against the stubble that lined his jaw. “Is that what we are, Danny? Friends? This doesn’t feel like any friendship I’ve ever had before. It feels like more. And no matter how much of you I get, I’m always left wanting more.”

Danny shuddered as Steve’s words found their mark inside him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat before speaking. “Yeah. It’s felt like more for a while now. I just didn’t know how to say it. I was too afraid of losing you to be honest about it.”

Steve’s thumb slid over to run across his bottom lip and Danny sucked in a breath. “Grace told me what you said this past weekend. She said you two were talking about me. She told you how afraid she had been that I would get hurt and that she loved me, and you answered, ‘ _Me, too, monkey’_. Is it true, Danny? You love me?”

The detective closed his eyes and his breath stuttered out with a soft curse. He gave up the fight, abandoned flight, and replied softly, “Yeah. I really do, Steven. Have for a while now.”

Steve’s body moved in closer to his until they were pressed against each other, naked chest to naked chest. His fingers dug into the skin of his neck and his words were dark with promise when he commanded, “Say it, Danny. I want to hear you say the words.”

Danny could feel his hard cock digging into his partner’s hip and he couldn’t stop himself from pressing closer. “I love you, Steve.”

A low, rumbling sound of approval escaped Steve’s lips moments before they slanted across his own. Steve claimed Danny’s mouth with precision and passion. Using his thumb, he pushed down on Danny’s chin until his mouth opened and Steve surged inside to lick and tease and seduce with his tongue. He had never been kissed like this before, had never felt so consumed by someone else, and he drank it down while valiantly doing his best to keep up. Steve was relentless in his pursuit of consuming him until Danny lost every part of himself except the part that was kissing Steve in this very moment.

Steve ripped himself away from Danny’s lips with a curse. His breath fanned hot and fast across Danny’s neck and his hips moved restlessly against the shorter man. “Fuck! I’m sorry, Danny. I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I had this big plan in mind, you know? I was going to lure you into the tent with me and then make my move. But then you had that panic attack and now I’m in here mauling you not even ten minutes later. I really am an animal.”

“Hey, hey. None of that. I am the only one that gets to call you names. Also, that wasn’t a panic attack back there. Not really. I’m claustrophobic, babe. You took up too much space in that tent and it triggered my claustrophobia. Rest assured, my virtue is safe and you would not be taking advantage of me. In fact, I insist you continue. Maul away, please,” he assured the big wall of muscle looming over him in the bed.

Steve chuckled with relief and slid even more of his body along Danny’s until the shorter man was hissing through his teeth. “God, you never cease to amaze me. Just promise me something, Danny. Don’t ever hold back from telling me anything again, yeah? That includes having nightmares about not arriving in time to save me. That includes dangerous phobias that could leave one or both of us hurt. And it especially includes important facts like you love me.”

“Deal,” Danny answered quickly before dragging him back down into another scorching kiss.

The time for words and declarations was over. Danny was more than ready to reap his reward for coming clean. He wanted to touch Steve everywhere. His fingers were busy scrubbing through his partner’s shorn, brunette locks before trailing down to tug his earlobes and trace a line down the column of his neck. He didn’t want to leave the heaven of Steve’s kiss, so he allowed his hands to wander further over his bunched shoulders, down his pecs, and around to his sides to knead and squeeze the open expanse of skin there. Their hips were moving in sync now and their cocks brushed against each other separated only by the thin cotton of their underwear.

Steve pulled away and gasped for breath, his arms shaking where he had held himself away from crushing the shorter man. “God, Danny. I want you so bad,” he confessed, his voice ragged with desire.

Danny didn’t even pause when answered, “Lube and condoms in the bedside drawer.”

Steve went still, every muscle in his body coming to rest. “Are you sure about this? We don’t have to-“

“Yes, I am, Steven, and yes, I know that,” Danny interrupted him decisively.

Steve was moving before Danny had even finished speaking. In seconds, he had the things he needed, and Danny had kicked off his boxers before starting to work on Steve’s boxer briefs. With Steve kneeling on the bed, Danny pulled the tight shorts down Steve’s muscled, corded thighs until his face ended up even with the long, thick shaft of his partner’s erection. Danny’s mouth watered at the thought of tasting him. He took his length in his hand and sank his lips over the weeping tip. Steve cursed and wobbled before regaining his balance by bracing his arm on Danny’s shoulder. He tasted so damn good to Danny like that first swallow of beer after a long, sweaty day chasing perps through the jungle. He licked and sucked every inch of exposed skin from crown to sack until he had stolen every bit of the man’s essence and swallowed it down.

With a groan of effort, Steve forced Danny away from his attentions and maneuvered him back to laying on the bed. Steve smacked around on the bed until he found the little bottle and made short work of drizzling his fingers before settling between Danny’s legs. He closed the distance between them, which Danny preferred, and licked and bit at Danny’s lips while his slippery hand moved up and down Danny’s length with confidence and authority. The shorter man couldn’t help but to thrust up into Steve’s slick palm with every pass. His climax was taunting him, just out of reach and goading him to climb higher in order to claim it. Right before he thought he had caught up to it, Steve’s fingers moved lower, rubbing and tugging at his sack, and then lower still until he found the opening to Danny’s body.

“Don’t let me hurt you,” Steve begged him even as the first finger swirled and dipped inside his body.

Danny forced his body to relax and accept the invasion and push past the burn. “More,” Danny panted in reply as his body lit up with the sensation of Steve’s finger moving in and out of him.

Steve obliged him by sliding in a second finger. Danny sucked in a surprised breath, but it whooshed out when the pads of the SEAL’s fingers brushed across that sensitive bundle of nerves inside him. The burn faded slowly, but the shockwaves of pleasure that coursed through his body seized him faster and faster as his partner twisted, plunged, and paved the way for his cock.

Danny didn’t think he could wait any longer. He’s been waiting for three years already, and enough was enough. “Come on, babe. I’m ready.”

“Thank God!” Steve replied a little hysterically.

Gingerly he eased his fingers out of Danny’s body and reached for the condom wrapper and ripped it open with his teeth. His hands were shaking as he smoothed the latex over his shaft and followed it up with another healthy dose of lube. When he was satisfied with the results, he settled his body into the cradle of Danny’s thighs. Danny felt the pressure of his partner’s cock pushing against his opening, but Steve went no further as he buried his face in Danny’s neck.

Danny palmed Steve’s neck and whispered, “Hey, we good? I want this. I want you.”

He could feel the SEAL’s ragged breaths misting his skin before he replied, “Yeah, we’re good, Danny. I just…I’ve wanted this, wanted _you_ , for so long that I’m afraid I’ll get carried away and hurt you. I don’t want our first time together to be a bad experience for you.”

Danny’s heart gave a hard thump at Steve’s words. “That’s really sweet and all, but babe, I am far from a virgin in any sense of the word. And since when have you ever known me not to be vocal about things that displease me? I’ll tell you what I need, and I trust you to listen. Now, _move_.”

Steve’s laugh was breathy and desperate, but he took Danny at his word and pressed forward steadily until the largest part of his flared crown had passed through the tight ring of muscle that guarded the entrance to Danny’s body. There was a flash of burning pain, but it faded quickly as Steve moved his hand to grip Danny’s swollen cock and begin to stroke. Despite the shorter man’s insistence, Steve moved slowly and carefully, pushing and pulling millimeters at a time, until he eventually bottomed out inside Danny.

Danny was dizzy with the wash of sensations chasing up and down his nervous system. He was stretched and full with Steve’s cock, and a delicious mix of pain and pleasure lit up every cell in his body. But when Steve began to withdraw before thrusting back in, Danny couldn’t stop the arch of his back or the cry of surprise that ripped through his throat.

“Shhh, not too loud,” Steve reminded him quietly, his voice shaking with repressed lust. “Are you okay? Do we need to stop?”

Danny was panting and beads of sweat had popped up all over his body. “Don’t you dare fucking stop,” he growled before pulling Steve’s lips to his own for a demanding, savage kiss.

Steve groaned, low and dirty, into the shorter man’s mouth as his hips began to pick up speed. Danny grunted with every deep, powerful thrust as he dug his fingers into the grooves of Steve’s flexing ass to pull him in harder. Their rhythm was uncoordinated and rough, but neither of them seemed to care as they chased after the other’s climax. Danny wanted to feel Steve come apart on top him, so he met his every thrust while whispering harsh words of encouragement in his ear.

“Jesus! You’re fucking huge, babe. That’s it, right there. Fuck! You feel so good,” he moaned as Steve’s hand squeezed and milked his cock with every stroke.

Steve was shaking and sweat rolled down his temple to splash against Danny’s chest. “I can’t…last much longer, Danny. Please…you gotta come with me,” Steve begged, his voice ragged with strain.

Somehow, Danny knew that Steve wouldn’t come until he did, so he wrapped his hand over top of Steve’s and moved their hands in the way he knew would make him see stars. Sure enough, he felt his climax barreling down on him like a freight train and he desperately claimed Steve’s lips as it hit him. His cries were muffled and drowned by Steve’s lips and tongue as his cock erupted in concert with each deep thrust of Steve’s shaft inside him. He was still jolting from the aftershocks when Steve broke away to suck and bite at the tendon in Danny’s shoulder. His hips snapped against Danny’s ass several more times until Steve stiffened with a muffled shout as his own release consumed him.

Danny sucked in air, doing his best to catch his breath, but the mountain of muscle on top of him only allowed him so much room to breathe. He spent his time waiting for Steve to recover by running his hands up and down the sweat-slicked muscles of his partner’s back and floating on the endorphin sea of the best orgasm he’d ever had in his life.

Steve finally seemed to gather himself and stirred in Danny’s embrace. He kissed and sucked a path across Danny’s shoulder and up his neck until he was once again nosed behind his ear. “Holy shit, that was insane.”

Danny’s laughter bubbled up from the well of joy inside him. “I didn’t expect anything less from you, babe.”

Steve groaned and reluctantly began to pull himself away from Danny’s body while holding the condom to prevent it from slipping. He nimbly extricated himself from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Danny couldn’t seem to be bothered to move, so he lay there and listened to the sounds of running water and the toilet flushing before Steve made his way back to the bed.

“Here, Danny, let’s get you cleaned up,” Steve whispered into the darkness. Without waiting for permission, he began to smooth a warm, soft washcloth over every inch of Danny’s crotch and down to his ass.

Danny tried not to blush, and ruefully wondered how this could feel more intimate and make him feel more vulnerable than the man fucking his ass. But somehow, the act of Steve cleaning him so gently and carefully made him fall in love with him a little more. He suffered his partner’s attentions without a word until the man seemed satisfied with the results. After tossing the cloth toward the hamper in the bathroom, Steve rejoined Danny in the bed until they were facing each other once more.

“You okay?” the tough Commander asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty and trepidation.

Danny’s lips quirked in a disbelieving smile. “Am I okay? Are you kidding me right now, babe? I’m fucking fantastic. What about you?”

Relief colored the dry chuckle that escaped his partner’s lips. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty fantastic, too.” Steve paused for a moment before adding, “I know I haven’t said the said the words yet, but you know I love you, right?”

Danny’s heart melted into a big puddle of goo. He reached out with his hand and ran his fingers through the stubble lining his partner’s cheek as he answered softly, “Yeah, babe. I figured that out.”


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, after he had returned from dropping Grace at school, Danny deposited his keys on the kitchen counter carefully so the jangling wouldn’t wake his sleeping partner. With practiced and efficient movements, he filled the coffee maker with water and grounds and set it to perk before fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. With a self-satisfied smirk, he thumbed through the contacts until he found the number he was looking for and pressed send.

After several rings, a grumpy, feminine voice growled, “What?”

Danny grinned and replied, “Well, good morning to you, too, sunshine.”

“Fuck you, Danny. My alarm doesn’t go off for another fifteen minutes. You better not be calling me about a case,” Kono threatened, her voice raspy with sleep.

Danny pressed the phone between his shoulder and ear as he reached into the cabinet to pull down two mugs. “No, no, I am not calling you about a case. I just wanted to let you know that Steve and I are taking a personal day today.”

Silence crackled across the airwaves and he eagerly anticipated the moment when her sleepy brain made the connection. Her tone was careful and measured when she replied, “Will you and Steve be spending this personal day together?”

Danny’s voice was entirely too chipper when he answered, “Yes, Kono. Steve and I will be spending our personal day…together. Do you think you and Chin can handle any cases that come up today?”

Kono made a rude noise. “Please. Me and Chin do most of the work anyways. You and Steve just ride around in your car arguing all day and then show up to shoot guns. I think me and Cuz will be just fine.”

Danny was enjoying this too much to even bother defending himself. “That is very kind of you. If anything serious comes up, call us if it comes to guns. You know that’s his favorite part.”

“I don’t know, Danny. I think he may have found something better he likes to do. Or someone,” she added innocently.

Danny barely held back his laugh. “Shame on you, Kono Kalakaua. Is that what they teach in Hawaiian schools? That’s it. I’m pulling Grace out and heading back to Jersey.”

Kono wasn’t impressed. “Is Steve wearing clothes right now?” she cut to the chase.

“Define the word ‘clothes’,” he countered.

“Oh, my God! He’s still in your bed, isn’t he?!” she burst out, her tone scandalized.

This time, Danny let his laughter peal across the lines. “Why, yes. Yes, he is. If all goes right with this day, he will be staying there, too. So, can we count on you to hold the fort down today or not?”

“Gross. I take it all back. All that supportive nonsense I told you yesterday? It’s out the window. I am officially cutting you off, Danny Williams. I no longer wish to know anything about your love life,” she insisted.

“I love you, too, my friend. See you tomorrow?” Danny grinned.

A gusty sigh filtered over the line. “Fine. We got this. Now, go get _that_.”

Danny barked a laugh. “You got it, boss.” And then he ended the call.

 

End

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***I hope you enjoyed this take on the Field Trip episode! I seem to be on a roll right now, so I'm hoping to have another one soon. Let me know what you thought about it, and thank you so much for taking the time to read my stories!***


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